..a true pioneer for women in bluegrass. How many bluegrass writers can offer two tapes worth of very good to excellent self-composed titles in a single year?”
Art Menius, Bluegrass Unlimited Review (1994)
“Louisa Branscomb’s career so far both inside and outside of music has been guided by a powerful creative force… that has not only brought us a staggering amount of original material, but one that has enabled her to juggle, and effectively synthesize, her love of music, writing, people, and the mountains around her.”
Chris Jones, Blugrass Now
“Louisa writes songs that go straight to the heart of human emotion”
Lee Taylor, Bluegrass Unlimited
“Great songs are the result of deep feelings, and Louisa is one of the most sensitive writers in bluegrass today.”
Wayne Bledsoe, Bluegrass Now
“Louisa’s talent, aside from her considerable skill as a multi-instrumentalist, lies in her ability to recognize the profound in the ordinary and to often translate what she sees into language that’s easily understood by everyone.”
Julie Kohler, Bluegrass Now
Ray Morgan says of the Daughters of Bluegrass project, “This is one SEBARIFIC CD! The third release on Tom T. and Dixie Hall’s Blue Circle Records label is the second recording conceived from an idea in the early 2000’s by Lorraine Jordan of the Carolina Road Band and Gena Britt, who was at the time, traveling with Carolina Road.
………….Longtime SEBA member and acclaimed songwriter Louisa Branscomb penned “Fool’s Gold” on the recording Louisa’s song “Steel Rails” holds the record for the most months on the Bluegrass Unlimited charts with the Alison Krauss recording spending 18 months on the singles chart. Her June 2001 cover article on Vicki Simmons for Bluegrass Now is one of the best and most inspirational articles ever written about a bluegrass artist. The “Georgia melodies are sweet as Muscatine and peach” and this recording has earned the SEBA Seal of Approval!!”
SEBA Newsletter, August, 2006
HALL OF FAME TALENT
Cartersville Daily Tribune
December 1, 2006
By MARIE NESMITH
For Louisa Branscomb, the creation of a hit song is an evolutionary process that often takes form on scrap pieces of paper. Inspiration can strike her in the midst of chaos, such as filing her taxes, or as a random thought while driving.
Currently a work in progress, her latest bluegrass song emerged from a line in her acceptance speech at the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame ceremony Nov. 25 — “When things get harder fly higher.”
Branscomb, who was honored for writing and playing bluegrass music in Georgia for 25 years, was one of four Bartow County residents inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“All of my songs come from personal experience or from putting myself in someone else’s shoes,” said Branscomb, who started writing songs at age 5. “As a songwriter, I feel like I am more of a channel for energy. It is an inspirational process and a spiritual process.
“Wherever I am, I can get an inspiration. When I get an idea on the road, I write it down on whatever I can find, like receipts or checkbook slips. I use to say it was the best use of my speeding tickets. Coming home from Nashville two weeks ago, I pulled over at a rest stop to write two songs.”
Since 1969, Branscomb’s pioneer spirit and songwriting abilities have helped shape the landscape of bluegrass music. In the early 1970s, when there were few women musicians on the scene, Branscomb co-founded one of the first modern all-female bluegrass bands with Bluegrass Liberation at the age of 21, then became one of the first females to front a band and play banjo with Boot Hill from 1972 to 1980.
“The music was played by men with some notable exceptions as far as young women in the 1970s,” she said. “I have a pioneer personality. I decided to do it, and I did it. I assumed I was an equal, I approached it that way, and I was treated well in the industry.
“My goal was to make good music and reach people with my songs. I have been blessed with everything that has come along with that.”
While Branscomb has performed lead vocals and played the guitar, banjo, and mandolin throughout her career, it is her gift for songwriting that sets her apart. More than 70 of her songs have been recorded, leading to two Grammy cuts. Penned in 1971, Branscomb’s song “Steel Rails,” appeared on artist Alison Krauss’ Grammy-winning album, “I’ve Got That Old Feeling” in 1991. With Krauss. “Steel Rails” became the longest-running No. 1 song on the bluegrass charts, staying at the helm for 18 months.
“People write songs for different reasons: a place you love, a thought or idea,” Branscomb said. “That song was more about images and feelings. The image of the train track chasing sunshine around the bend, leaving the past and going to the future which is laid out before you. It’s about making a shift from a relationship that has ended to the future. When I wrote it I had only written 170 songs. I had no idea it would become what it has.”
Branscomb’s Hall of Fame entry followed her September International Bluegrass Music Association Recorded Event of the Year award for her contribution to the Daughters of Bluegrass‚ album “Back to the Well.” The project featured 18 female artists, including Branscomb.
“It was a phenomenal experience,” Branscomb said about being a part of “Back to the Well.” “It showed that women were no longer a subset of bluegrass. It was really inspirational to be around that creative energy and supportive atmosphere. Everyone had the desire to make each other look good.
“It is incredible how far women have come. It points out that things are equal, but there still aren’t as many women and there still are some situations where the conditions have room for growth. People say I had a hand in [drawing women to bluegrass]. Alison singing “Steel Rails” turned a whole new generation on to bluegrass.”
While Branscomb — the mother of a 13-year-old daughter and a practicing clinical psychologist in Cartersville — still enjoys writing and performing occasionally, she has long since retired from touring full time.
“I have reached a point in my career where I still love to perform, but my emphasis has shifted to promoting songwriting and giving back to the profession, mentoring others,” she said. “As part of that, my biggest project this past year has been the founding of the Bluegrass Songwriting Association.”
When asked what accolade or experience she treasured the most, Branscomb sidestepped her list of bluegrass accomplishments and said, watching her daughter play the Dobro and knowing her songs have “meant something to somebody.”